been trying to do it right, been living a lonely life
by streetlightskeletons
Summary: there's an injured bird, but it wasn't the cat who did it


"You're a little far from home, little bird," Selina greeted, a soft smile twitching at her lips. She slouched casually over the fire escape railing, forearms resting on the rusted metal. She clasped her hands together in front of her, letting them hang over the edge. She watched curiously as the boy flinched at the sudden voice, before all the lightly defined muscles in his tiny body tensed up. He peered upwards. She eyed the pitiful picture below her.

Curled between an old, decaying front-lift bin and a back concrete step of a distasteful Chinese restaurant, the boy shivered helplessly in the drizzling Winter rain. His dark hair was plastered to his forehead and he was flushed pink with the cold. He had his knees tucked up tightly to his chest, his cape wrapped tightly around his legs to conserve heat. Selina would have never noticed him if it weren't for the almost-luminous yellow edges of his cape that she could see, to his credit, he had tried to tuck in and hide.

The boy stayed silent, but kept his eyes trained on the woman above him. Selina tried again, inserting a hint of steel into her voice that she knew, from experience, that no man - boy or burglar - could refuse to answer. "Kid, what are you doing out alone?"

The boy started before clearing his throat. To his credit, his voice seemed to shake from the cold and not paralysing fear, which Selina had expected and was prepared for. She didn't want to traumatise the poor kid, especially if he was who she thought he was. The boy glared defiantly, the white lenses in his mask pushed up, and stammered out, "I- I'm not alone. B- Batman's here"

She had to strain her hearing, the boy was speaking so quietly. So, he _was_ the Bat's brat. Selina nodded and smiled thinly, looking around her mockingly. "Well, I don't see him, do you?"

Even from her distance, Selina could hear as the boy's breath quickened subtly. He must have perceived her honest observation as a threat. Internally, Selina was impressed. The kid had already knew an important life lesson that had taken her many years and broken hearts to learn – _trust no one_.

"He'll- He'll find you and beat you up if you hurt me," the boy informed and, of that, Selina had no doubt. The boy was new on the vigilante scene, only a couple of months, but everyone knew that Batman's kid was off-limits on pain of physical incapacitation.

Selina had heard the whispers and rumours through the criminal grapevine. There was a guy who knew a guy, who was friends with some guy's cousin who, _supposedly_ , lost a hand to a bat when he dared to slap it across a little bird's face. Selina wouldn't have put it past Bruce to start the rumour himself to ward off any potential harm towards his ward and inflate the fear surrounding his alter-ego in the criminal underworld. He was opportunistic like that.

Still, the idea of Bruce attempting to pummel her for harming his protégé was ridiculous, to say the least. Selina chuckled. "He can try"

Apparently, the boy couldn't see what was so funny. He curled tighter into his little alcove, his face still turned up towards her. Selina thought she saw his bottom lip wobble precariously and started. She stood up straighter and held her hands up peacefully, ignoring the kid's slight flinch at her sudden movement.

"It's okay, kid. I won't hurt you," she soothed, maintaining eye contact. It was something she had learned when dealing with victims. For some reason, seeing someone's eyes eased people. She smiled gently at the boy as he, predictably, relaxed minutely, "Can I come down?"

After a moment, he nodded hesitantly. "Sure, but can you- can you..-?"

"I'll stay back, don't worry," she guessed, slipping through the gaps in the railing and landing silently on her feet. She crouched down on the opposite side of the alley, about five feet away from the boy.

Up close, she could see the bruise beginning to blossom on the left side of his face, around his jawline, and his lip that was swollen due to the cut splitting down the middle of it. Realising that he was being analysed, the boy shifted and winced in pain, seemingly forgetting a hidden injury. Selina's gaze sharpened and her concern for the boy heightened, but let it drop when the kid spoke.

"Can you whisper?"

Selina's eyes narrowed, taking in the almost pleading look in his eyes. "Why?"

" _Please_ "

Selina eyed the kid but, figuring he had his reasons, lowered her voice as requested. "Okay"

Satisfied, the boy nodded and put his head down, hiding his eyes. Selina shifted so that she sat cross-legged on the ground, making herself seem smaller and less of a threat. She shivered as the rain began to seep through the leather of her costume.

There was silence between them. Selina was almost concerned that the boy had fallen asleep but, before she could move to lift him out of the shelter he had made to take him home, he whispered, "Do you promise?"

Confused, Selina stayed where she was and clarified, "Promise what?"

"That you won't hurt me?"

Involuntarily, Selina softened. "I promise"

When the boy didn't say anything else, Selina questioned, "Where is the big Bat anyway?"

The boy shifted, pushing his foot out slightly. He flicked his gaze from the woman opposite him to the ground, but still didn't say a word. She found herself chuckling, realising what Bruce saw in the kid. She tried again. "You can tell me. The Bat and I are… _old friends_ "

The boy stayed silent. It was smart, and she couldn't find fault in his hesitancy – it was what she would have done in his situation. One of the first rules of being a vigilante – don't take anyone at their word. Still, his stubbornness, however admirable, was not helping the situation. She sighed, frustrated, and tried a different tactic. "Well, I'm Selina"

At that, the boy smiled. "That's a pretty name," he said, a small smile gracing his lips. Selina decided she liked the look of it on his young face and mirrored it, encouraging. "My name's Dick"

Despite herself, she snorted. "That's a joke and a half, kid. You should consider changing it"

"It's what my dad used to call me," he muttered, stiffening and looking down at his knees. He stayed silent, but Selina heard a faint sniff. It was ruthlessly repressed when the boy bit down on his lip, splitting it and causing it bleed again. It dribbled down his chin.

She stayed where she was, tensing up her muscles in an effort to restrain herself. Of course, Selina noticed the past tense. Damn her foot in mouth tendencies. She knew what it was like, to lose someone close, and she hated that she had unknowingly dug up the boy's past.

"I'm sorry," she offered, cursing herself. In response, Dick only hummed, noncommitting, and Selina mourned the brief bout of trust. The boy was as difficult as his mentor.

"I don't know where he is," Dick said, looking back up. It took her a second to realise what he was talking about. "There were too many guys and he said that he would draw them away"

"But he won't _answer_ , Selina" he whispered. His cape opened and Selina's gaze was drawn to the comm unit that she could see was clutched in his small hand, knuckles white and shaking, as if it were his only lifeline.

She nodded, smiling gently to ease the boy as he began to sound more agitated. "Why don't you come over here, then? We can share heat that way - I can't fit in there. I'll look after you until Batman gets back. I promise"

"I believe you," Dick breathed, "And I would, but I- I can't _. I can't_ "

Her brow furrowed, eyes narrowing as she felt a sense of foreboding crawl up her spine, its legs teasing her skin and raising the hair on the back on her neck and on her arms. "Why?"

The boy flinched at her sharp tone but, before she could apologize, he drew back his cape with a shaking hand.

Selina had never felt rage flood her veins so quickly. She soared from her seat on the ground and was at the boy's side before she realised she had moved. She took the cape from Dick's hand and pushed it further aside, getting a better look. Furious, she snapped, "Why didn't you _tell me_ that you were _hurt_? Who did it? _Who?_ "

"I- I don't _know_ ," the boy stuttered out, shrinking in on himself and drawing away from the vigilante. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. No use in scaring the boy. After a moment, calmer now, she looked at the boy's side with a trained eye.

It was a knife wound. This, Selina could tell from the handle that was sticking out from the kid's torso. From the size of the handle, she guessed that it was a small blade, barely 4 inches – a pocket knife. It was shoved between his ribs, which, while painful, was not life-threatening. Despite how unpleasant it might have been, the boy had had the right idea by _not_ pulling the blade out – probably saving Selina from explaining to Bruce why she was found near his boy's body, bled out.

She shivered at the thought. Gotham and its citizens were not prepared for a distraught and vengeful Batman, hell-bent on justifying the death of his boy. For the first time in a long time, Selina prayed to whoever was listening that that day would never come.

She tugged Dick out of the small space between the bin and step, pulling the small body close, almost onto her lap. From here, she could see the glaze over the boy's eyes and could feel the feverish heat radiating from him.

"But 'Lina," Dick urged, hand grasping at her suit, "I think they're still here. They're _still here_ "

Selina chuckled darkly, mirthlessly. " _Good_ \- we'll be having some words"

" _No-"_ Dick started, cut off by a whimper as the leather-clad vigilante pushed around the knife. He hissed over her muttered apology and tried to twist away as the pressure increased surrounding the wound. He cried out as the knife shifted.

"Kid, you gotta _stay still_ ," Selina said quietly, grunting as the boy's foot clipped her side.

" _Hurts_ ," Dick moaned. Selina had never felt so much fury in her life as she pushed down harder. The people who did this to this poor kid were going to rue the day they were fucking _born_.

"Is that why you asked me to whisper earlier?"

The boy nodded frantically. "I can't fight them again if they come back. They _can't_ find me, 'Lina, I-"

"Shh, it's okay, baby," Selina hushed gently, petting the boys damp hair as he worked himself up.

She usually had no problem dealing with distraught children but, for some reason, this little boy had her beating back her parental instincts with a stick. Damn that Bat, taking in the only one that would find the weak points in her defences and slip by them unknowingly. To be a vigilante was to exist in a vacuum. She had gotten used to it. Trust _Bruce's_ boy to be the one that made her want to _feel_ again.

" _Robin?"_

Speak of the devil.

"Over here," Selina called out over her shoulder, shushing the boy in her lap as he protested her noise levels. Selina knew that if the people who had stabbed him were truly still around, they would have appeared when she had gathered the boy in her arms. They were in a vulnerable position, open to attack, but she couldn't bring herself to care - the boy was trembling and in pain, like _hell_ she was going to do anything else bar comfort him.

Armoured boots landed behind her and she tracked them as they rounded to stand in front of her. She peered upwards. Batman eyed the pitiful picture beneath him.

In a second - in which Selina swears she didn't flinch - Batman was kneeling before them, gloved hand reaching out to cradle the boy's head. Selina started at the tender gesture, but tactfully said nothing. His eyes roamed over the small body, categorising everything before he spoke.

"Dick?" Bruce whispered, his voice deep and gravelly but warm and quiet. The boy in question moaned and reached out with grabby hands, which Batman accepted gently, pulling him into his arms. Dick whimpered in pain and Bruce shushed him.

Selina thought she was hallucinating and stood once her burden was relieved from her. She eyed the big Bat, holding his Robin in his arms, and her gaze softened. She spoke before her old friend could.

"Knife to his left side, still in there. Be careful," she advised and Batman nodded in response. She stepped forward, gathering up the boy's cape that was hanging down and tucking it in around the nearly-unconscious protégé. That taken care of, she stepped back after running her hand down the boy's cheek affectionately.

Batman paused. "Thank you, Selina"

Before she could find a dignified response, he had turned away and stalked down the alley, heading towards the Batmobile that rumbled reassuringly at the end. The boy in his arms curled up to rest his head on his mentor's shoulder and Selina could hear Bruce muttering to him over his groans of pain.

She smiled fondly. Then she turned, soft smile fading to something more twisted and sharp, and stalked down the opposite way. She wondered if they had gotten far.


End file.
